


Wash Away My Sins

by ChibiYoda



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domesticity, Fluff, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, This Is My Ship and It Has Wrecked Me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-11 07:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5617828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiYoda/pseuds/ChibiYoda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce is a man of simple pleasures. It's a shame he won't let himself enjoy them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wash Away My Sins

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt: bubble bath

When the water had reached the perfect height Bruce turned off the faucet. He stripped off his clothes, and left them in a small pile by the sink. After lighting the few candles that were arranged on the counter, he dimmed the artificial lights. The golden glow was much more tranquilizing than the stark fluorescents. Pleased with the ambiance, he stepped into the bathtub.

The water was incredibly hot. Tony took every opportunity to razz Bruce for the way his skin would turn red from the heat. Tony has a thing for red anyway.

Bruce lowered himself slowly, acclimating to the temperature. Once settled, he stretched out. The water itself rose to Bruce’s chest, as his back conformed to the curve of the marble, but the thick layer of bubbles floating on top nearly reached his shoulders. Relaxing into the water, Bruce closed his eyes and breathed in the warmth, sighing contentedly. Sensing a bead of sweat beginning to make its way down his temple, he lifted a hand to wipe it away, blowing off the bubbles that clung to his fingers. Tony may tease, but Bruce was convinced that Tony enjoyed the bubbles just as much as he did. It wasn’t really necessary to grow up completely, was it?

This was one of Bruce’s favorite indulgences. A simple bubble bath. High above the bustling city and nestled inside the heart of the tower, Bruce tucks himself away from the rest of humanity, and finds some peace in the bathroom off the master bedroom. Of all the places on earth, he never would have guessed that within these four walls he’d be able to unwind without having to lead himself into a meditative state. He was confident that nothing in his life right now even remotely resembles how he pictured the endgame a year ago. And for that, he was thankful. Gone, but never forgotten, was the constant stress of having to keep one eye open for the military or miscreants, and keeping the other eye on himself – never knowing if the Other Guy could take advantage of his weakness.

Yet after all this time, he still couldn’t quite shake the feel of the rocks and dirt and bugs which had abused his skin relentlessly. Back then he was constantly covered in a layer of grime. Coming from a sterile environment, hygiene had been a priority. Living on the run had regrettably changed it into a luxury. Seemed his outer shell had become a visible interpretation of the filth he felt within.

His body had been polluted, from the inside out. 

So he soaks in the comforting water, hoping to one day be clean. 

 

He may have lost his sense of time and space for a few moments, but the voice that disrupted his reverie didn’t startle him. That voice had become as soothing to his ears as the water was to the rest of his body.

"Hey, you still in here?" Tony peeked his head in the door, speaking barely above a whisper so as not to disturb Bruce's peaceful state. "Mind if I join you?"

"I wish you would, actually." Bruce couldn't bring himself to open his eyes yet. "I shouldn't waste this water just on myself."

Frowning, Tony came into the room the rest of the way and started to undress. "How many times do I have to tell you that taking a bath isn't an extravagance, it's normality." He discarded the last article of clothing, and stood by the tub. "Scooch. I'm getting in back."

Bruce forced his eyes open to see Tony's hand waving back and forth. He slid forward to give Tony room to climb in behind him. When he was situated, Bruce leaned back to rest against Tony's chest. "It's not normal in many places I've stayed."

Tony wrapped his arms around Bruce's middle. "It is for where you are now. You don't need to feel guilty for taking a bath, alone, if you so choose. Now, turning our bathroom into a sauna? That could be deemed excessive."

"You know I like it hot."

"But at the expense of my sensitive skin, Sebastian? This is borderline intolerable. I can only imagine what it was like when you first got in!"

"My fragile little flower." Bruce patted Tony's hand.

"Ugh. Don't call me that. I'm Iron Man."

"Then stop calling me Sebastian."

"If you'll start believing me when I tell you it's ok to be good to yourself."

Bruce contemplated Tony's request. He's heard it plenty of times before. He knew Tony was right, to a certain extent, because he has had to coach Tony similarly. Bruce knows damn well that Tony is excessively hard on himself. He sees all the good Tony does, and the good that he inherently is, and he wholeheartedly believes that the world is much better off with Tony in it.

It had taken Bruce a while to realize that this was how Tony saw him, too. He may now understand Tony's view, but still can't fully agree with his interpretation. Bruce sees Tony's negative responses when Bruce is the one giving the pep talk, so he figures that Tony can't honestly expect more from him than what he himself is capable of.

"It's not that I don't believe you, Tony. I trust that what you tell me is true. But the process of getting my brain to accept all of your encouragement is a slow one."

Tony conceded. "I know whereof you speak."

Making their significant other frustrated in their attempts to provide the most basic of praise was on each of their laundry lists of things to mentally kick themselves for. They acknowledged that it was something they needed to improve on. Neither man wanted to add to the other's hardships. They made things tough enough on themselves as it was.

And before they could delve too far into the maudlin, a voice was heard out in the bedroom.

"Fathers?"

"In here." Tony called out lightly.

Vision appeared in the doorway. "I'm sorry to disturb."

"You're not disturbing us. You're always welcome." Bruce smiled warmly at the wonder that he and Tony had created.

While he showed no outward emotion, the way Vision canted his head was their cue of his comprehension of the sentiment. "Captain Rogers is downstairs and would like to know if you are available to speak with him."

Tony groaned. "Leave it to Cap to ruin a perfectly good bath. Yeah, yeah. Let him know we'll be down in a few minutes."

"Of course." And just as quietly as he'd arrived, Vision withdrew.

Tony shook his head. "I still can't believe we're responsible for that."

Bruce snorted. "I still can't believe he calls us 'father'."

"Better than 'mother'. Leave that to Helen." Tony swirled a lock of Bruce's hair around his finger. "Well, it was his choice. I suppose he's not that far off, really. He definitely has your heart."

Bruce thought it was a very sweet compliment, if not entirely accurate. "And your mind."

"We did good." Tony gave him a quick kiss on the back of his neck.

Bruce sat up and looked back at Tony. "It would seem that we're both capable of continuing to do good then, huh?"

Tony believed it. But more importantly, so did Bruce.

**Author's Note:**

> Sebastian is the name of the crab from "The Little Mermaid", just in case someone doesn't know. :)


End file.
